From the blog

We as fans of The Rock (the genre, not the shitty juiced up wrestler turned actor) need a band like Local H to visit us to refuel our longing for a genre that they made better just by being in it.

Hello my fellow kilSters! So I’ve been hyping this show up since it was first announced back in March, and yesterday it finally happened. Local H slaughtered the Mercury Lounge with their brand of raw energy rock. The days, the weeks, the fucking hours that passed where my smile would grow a little bit brighter because I knew what was coming. Last night, my smile reached its full potential. If you weren’t there, then where were you? What was more important that you couldn’t come out for Local H? That’s alright. If there’s one thing that’s sure, it’s that Local H will come back. Local H always comes back because for an Illinois-bred band, Local H knows that they’re loved here. We as fans of The Rock (the genre, not the shitty juiced up wrestler turned actor) need a band like Local H to visit us to refuel our longing for a genre that they made better just by being in it.

New Yorkers care fuck all if the flash was on while they were taking photos.

First things first, though: No flash photography! Scott Lucas does not like flash photography. The crowd at the Mercury Lounge; the NEW YORK (I capitalized ‘New York’ because New Yorkers care fuck all if the flash was on while they were taking photos.)crowd didn’t listen. I must’ve been the only asshole with a camera that did respect Scott’s wishes. The lighting fucking sucks at the Mercury. If you’ve never been to the Mercury, then there’s two things you should know: The sound is great and the lighting suuuuucks. So no flash photography? Okay. Oh well. I’ll have to scour the net for Local H pics from others who were at the show last night and took photos anyway. To flash or not flash is not the centerpiece of this article, so let’s get right into it, shall we?

I, along with my cohort for the night, Christos, arrive two hours before show time. Why? Well, I was hoping to snap some photos of the H during their soundcheck, but alas, that was not to be as Scott and Ryan were running through the last song of their soundcheck, The ultra new, “The Misanthrope“, and I still needed to get permission to even snap one photo, but alas, that was not to be. Like I said, it was their last song for soundcheck. That’s fine. Two hours to showtime. The doors opened at 6pm and a spattering of people file in. Time is winding down and it’s almost time for the opening act, Crook and Pony, to take the stage. Where the fuck are the people? What in the blue hell is going on here? 6:25pm: I’m shocked. 11 people just floating around. 6:31pm: Crook and Pony start their set. I’m not feeling it right from the get, but by the second song, I’m warming up to them. The singer kind of sounds like the widowed Courtney Love Cobain, but better. More people arrive. 7:28pm: Crook and Pony exit the stage. I turn to look at the crowd behind me. Packed. Ahhhh, there you are.

“He’s gotta be a basher“. I’d say the mission was accomplished, would you?

7:31: Local H’s intro music starts. I’m excited. The crowd is excited. New drummer, Ryan Harding comes out first. The crowd roars. Scott comes out a few moments after. The Mercury crowd erupts. The band quickly sets up and goes right into it. The band starts the night off with “Buffalo Trace“. Coming in at just under 13 minutes, “Buffalo Trace” is Local H’s “Inna-Gadda-Da-Vida“; but, unlike that song, you’re not bored after the first 3 minutes. Now, I have heard some live recordings of Local H with Ryan, but last night was my first time actually seeing him do his thing in the flesh. One word comes to mind to describe the new member of the H: Machine. The man is a machine behind the skins. Precision be his second name. He was on point with everything and he just bashed those fucking drums (If you recall our interview with Scott Lucas back in October, I asked Scott what the criteria was for filling Brian St. Clair’s ginormous shoes? Scott’s reply: “He’s gotta be a basher“. I’d say the mission was accomplished, wouldn’t you?)

Catching a Scott Lucas smile is about as rare as a Sasquatch sighting, so it was nice to see.

After playing a few songs, Scott introduces the band. He yells out “Hi everybody, thanks for coming out!” to which we all yell “Hello” right back at him. Some girl in the crowd yells out “I love you, Scott!”, which is followed by a “Yeah, Scott“, by a very effeminate sounding gentleman. That brought a smile to Scott’s face, which, as any true fan knows, Scott does NOT smile. Ever. Catching a Scott Lucas smile is about as rare as a Sasquatch sighting, so it was nice to see.

I went and listened to the original after my Local H taste of it and you know what? Local H just does it better.

Local H performed their two new tracks off their unreleased album, “The Misanthrope“, “One Of Us“, and also from their upcoming Awesome Mix Tape #2, a cover of Lorde‘s, “Team“, their New York debut. If you know anything about Local H, you know that they cover songs quite well. They take these originals and put their own spin on them. I don’t know if it’s the fanboy coming out of me, but it seems I always enjoy Local H’s take on the songs more so than the originals. When Local H premiered their cut of “Team” last week, via Youtube. I dug it instantly and had no idea that it was a cover until I read some of the comments. I went and listened to the original after my Local H taste of it and you know what? Local H just does it better. While we’re on the subject of “Team“, Local H dropped that single today so at the bottom of this article there will be a link to where you can go to purchase this little piece of awesome. You’re welcome.

it’s that passion that drives people like Scott and Ryan to hammer it out and give their audience 120% every night.

All in all, Local H played a blistering set. Christos, who was a Local H virgin (until Scott and Ryan popped his cherry last night) asked me after the show how old Scott was. I don’t know why that’s relevant, but I got where he was coming from. I told him that Scott will be turning 44 on May 10th and shocked he was, don’t know why though. Who the fuck said that rocking out was a young man’s game. There are acts out there that are half Scott’s age and you could tell that they’re winded by the 5th song. Imagine what they look like at the end of their set! Rock has nothing to do with age anyway. If Scott were 54 years old, it wouldn’t really fucking matter. Regardless of age, if the passion to play music flows through your veins, it’s that passion that drives people like Scott and Ryan to hammer it out and give their audience 120% every night. I had the good fortune of meeting Ryan a little before the show just to say welcome to the fold. I said those words to him before the band’s performance, and yeah, Ryan won me over from “Buffalo Trace” on (If he’s reading this, Ryan, you machine you, drumming well done, sir, drumming well done.)

Local H killed it for an hour and thirty-two minutes last night. I’ve seen them live countless times over the years and will continue to do so for years to come. They are the best, nay, the crème de la crème of what a live act is supposed to be: Raw energy. With the band’s ever growing catalogue of kick ass songs, there really is no better way to spend your time than banging your head to the sweet, sweet sounds of the H. So, in closing, I say I don’t care if you’re in New York, Boston, or fucking Anchorage, Alaska, if you hear that Local H is coming to town, go see them, and bring a friend. Enlighten their life for the better.

A very special thank you to Jeff Grotte and Jay Porks for allowing me to use their photos from last night’s show for this article. Without these two individuals, this piece would be a whole lot of reading with no eye candy. Guys, I am eternally grateful.

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